Discover Orthodox Christianity

Discover the timeless wisdom of our Holy Tradition, made accessible and interesting by some of the best Orthodox Christian writers of today. This series of articles on some of the basic doctrines of the Orthodox Christian Faith is brought to you by Antiochian.org and Conciliar Media, a department of the Antiochian Archdiocese. They are also available from Conciliar as a series of attractive and informative booklets and brochures.

Orthodox worship is different! Some of these differences are apparent, if perplexing, from the first moment you walk in a church. Others become noticeable only over time. Here is some information that may help you feel more at home in Orthodox worship--twelve things I wish I'd known before my first visit to an Orthodox church.

"The Orthodox Church is the original Christian Church, the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and described in the pages of the New Testament. Her history can be traced in unbroken continuity all the way back to Christ and His Twelve Apostles."

"To proclaim that Jesus is Lord demarcates the Christian from the rest of the world. It sums up the Christian faith in three words, and it is far different from merely noting that Jesus was born or that Jesus lived or died."

"We are to see Scripture as a personal letter ad­dressed specifically to each one of us by God. We are each of us to see Scripture reading as a direct, individual dialogue between Christ and ourselves."

"The icon is a holy image, a door to heaven. It tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ and His great cloud of witnesses are present, on hand, on high, with us. Therefore, it is indispensable for those who sincerely pursue and desire the fullness of Christian worship."

"The very word confession makes us nervous, touching as it does all that is hidden in ourselves: lies told, injuries caused, things stolen, friends deceived, people betrayed, promises broken, faith denied—these plus all the smaller actions that reveal the beginnings of sins."

"Real reconciliation means complete and authentic acceptance of one another, despite sins, offenses, and transgressions: an authentic bond between persons in a spirit of love and humility. There will always be sins and offenses. We must never allow ourselves to criticize and judge one another, because it is always hypocrisy. We only judge others because we see in them our own faults and insecurities mirrored back to us."

"For early Christians, there was no false dichotomy such as we see today between the Bible and Holy Tradition. It was never an 'either/or' op­tion. Both Scripture and Holy Tradition were received as having been given to the Church by God Himself, the source of all wisdom, through the direct operation of the Holy Spirit."